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Sport Briefs

■ BOXING

Fighter denies drug dealing

British Olympic boxer Bradley Saunders on Tuesday denied any involvement in dealing cocaine after a police raid on his home that led to him being detained overnight. The highly regarded light welterweight was held along with his girlfriend after a police sniffer dog found a suspected quantity of the drug in their back garden during Monday’s raid on their home at Sedgefield in the northeast of England. Saunders, 22, and his girlfriend were released on bail without any charges and he later suggested he may have been the victim of a malicious set-up. “I earn a decent living and have been getting paid since I was 13 years old for boxing. There is no reason for me to be involved in drugs. We’re a well-known family in Sedgefield but since my face has become better known I think I’ve become more of a target. Since the Olympics I’ve been the victim of quite a lot of crime. My house was burgled recently as my girlfriend and I slept — they let themselves into the house through the back and took her car keys. People get jealous,” he said.



■ RUGBY UNION

Prince backs All Blacks win

The All Blacks met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday and were told by her husband, Prince Philip, to expect an “easy” ride when they play England on Saturday. The prince made the comment to All Blacks captain Richie McCaw as the royal couple accompanied the team and New Zealand’s newly-elected Prime Minister John Key on a visit of a giant inflatable rugby ball near Tower Bridge in London. The ball will host Monday’s draw for the pool stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which will be played in New Zealand. McCaw said of the royal prediction: “He was asking me how the grounds were and what it was like to play at Twickenham, actually. We were talking about the game last week — he reckoned it will be quite easy this week, but I don’t know about that.”



■ SUMO

Mongolian made ‘ozeki’

Mongolian Ama was promoted to the second-highest rank yesterday in another show of the country’s dominance of Japan’s ancient sport. “I would like to accept it humbly. I will earnestly devote myself to pursuing the path of sumo,” Ama said during a ceremony at his stable. The decision by the Japan Sumo Association to promote Ama to ozeki — just one rank below grand champion — was unanimous. The 24-year-old wrestler, real name Davaanyam Byambadorj, changed his ring name upon promotion, as other wrestlers have before. His new moniker is Harumafuji, meaning “sun horse” and Mount Fuji. At 129kg, Harumafuji is the lightest top-flight fighter and is reputed for his speed. He made waves in the last tournament which ended on Sunday, finishing runner-up with a 13-2 record behind compatriot and grand champion Hakuho. Harumafuji is the third Mongolian to reach the rank of ozeki and is the seventh non-Japanese ozeki in history.



■ CRICKET

Symonds in the clear

Australia’s Andrew Symonds was cleared of wrongdoing following an incident in a bar three days ago and will be allowed to face New Zealand this week. Cricket Australia investigated the incident that ended with a man being ejected from a Brisbane bar. Symonds was “approached by a patron and handled himself appropriately and with maturity and restraint,” Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland told reporters yesterday. Symonds recently completed a rehabilitation program.


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